When it comes to eating healthily and avoiding take-out food full of salt, sugar and saturated fat, preparing your meals in advance is the No. 1 key to success. When things get hectic, you’ll thank yourself for taking some time out of your weekend to make a few healthy, easy-to-reheat meals.

The more thought you put into your weekly meal planning sessions, the easier it will be to stick to your healthy eating goals on busy weeknights when the drive-thru starts calling.

It’s important to start the meal prepping process with plenty of portion-size containers. Dallas Weight Loss Surgeon, Dr. Dirk usually recommends his patients eat smaller meals more often, so choose containers that will hold exactly the right amount of food to fill you up without overeating. You’ll need to stock up on plastic or glass food containers for meals and zip-top snack bags for smaller bites.

Next, plan your meals for the week ahead. Choose at least lean protein, one vegetable and one starch per meal. Even if you don’t eat it all at once, it’s a good rule of thumb.

For your meats, try using different marinades or spices to keep things interesting throughout the week. In fact, you can even cook chicken three ways in one pan. While it might take a few extra minutes, the best pre-prepped meal is the one you will actually eat — so make sure it tastes good, and give yourself some variety.

For vegetables, you can chop up some of your favorites to eat raw, or cook them to bring out their flavors. You can roast lots of different vegetables on one pan, and then separate them into portion-sized containers to provide variety throughout the week without taking up too much prep time.

Once you have your food for the week prepped, put it in the refrigerator or freezer, depending on when you plan to eat it. Then, you’ll only need to reheat and enjoy!